Luigi Mangione returns to New York to face federal charges in fatal shooting
Luigi Mangione, the suspect accused of shooting healthcare insurance CEO Brian Thompson, was extradited to New York on Thursday to stand trial on new federal charges against him.
Dressed in a blue sweater and khaki pants, Mr. Mangione arrived in a federal courtroom in New York on Thursday afternoon, his legs shackled and his hands free.
During a 15-minute hearing, a judge read aloud four federal charges against him, including murder by means of a firearm, leaving open the possibility of the death penalty.
The 26-year-old man will remain behind bars; His lawyers said during the hearing that they will not present the application for bail yet.
The proceeding followed a hearing on Thursday in Pennsylvania that discussed Mr. Mangione’s extradition back to New York where the shooting took place. He appeared bundled up in an orange jumpsuit, and was then flown by plane to an airport in Long Island, New York, then flown by helicopter to Manhattan.
Mr. Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after Mr. Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot dead. Police said he was found to be carrying a fake ID and a so-called “ghost gun.”
During the hearing in New York on Thursday, Mr. Mangione sat between his two lawyers – Karen Friedman Agnifilo and her husband, Mark Agnifilo, who is also representing the rapper Sean “Diddy Combs” in his sex trafficking case.
During the hearing, when New York Magistrate Judge Katherine Parker informed Mr. Mangione of his rights, including the right to remain silent, he nodded.
She also read the charges against him: two counts of stalking, a firearms offence, and murder through the use of a firearm.
The proceedings were largely standard, but Mr. Mangione’s lawyer, Ms. Agnifilo, who appeared in the courtroom on crutches, asked prosecutors to clarify how many counts Mr. Mangione would face.
He was already indicted in New York on state charges, including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, and now faces federal charges as well.
Ms Agnifilo told the court that the overlapping cases – and the murder charge against Mangione that makes him eligible for the death penalty – were “confusing” and “highly unusual”.
“I have never seen anything like what is happening here in my 30 years of practicing law,” he said.
Mr Mangione’s hearing was packed with journalists, members of the public and court staff. Many people protested in his support outside, holding placards that read: “Luigi freed us”.
Felipe Rodriguez, a former detective sergeant who served in the NYPD for 21 years, told the BBC that the level of security provided to Mr Mangione was comparable to that typically given to diplomats and dignitaries visiting New York.
Mr. Rodriguez, who now teaches at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, said Mangione was receiving “highly protective executive protection” — or what officials there call simply “package protection.”
New York Mayor Eric Adams was among the crowd of police officers who met Mr. Mangione’s helicopter as it landed in Manhattan. The suspect will be held at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn.
New York prosecutors last week began sharing evidence in their case against Mr. Mangione with the grand jury. New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the evidence against Mr. Mangione included a positive match of his fingerprints with those found at the crime scene.
According to New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the suspect arrived in New York City on November 24 and stayed in a Manhattan hostel using a fake ID before carrying out the attack against Mr. Thompson 10 days later.
In addition to the ghost gun – a gun made from inaccessible parts – and fake ID, a passport and a handwritten document indicating his “motivation and mindset” were also found on Mr. Mangione when he was arrested, police said. .
